President Signs Foreign Operations Appropriations Act
Statement by the President

Today I have signed into law H.R. 2506, the "Foreign Operations,
Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
2002." The Act provides the funds needed to support U.S.
foreign policy objectives abroad and reflects the restraint on spending
that has been a key goal of my Administration.

I appreciate the bipartisan effort that has gone into producing
this Act. It abides by the agreed upon aggregate funding
level for Fiscal Year 2002 of $686 billion. The Act will
provide $15.4 billion, largely along the lines of my request, and
includes essential funding to support America's war on
terrorism. The Act supports such key Administration
initiatives as the campaign against HIV/AIDS, with up to $100 million
available for the global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and
tuberculosis and an additional $100 million is also provided by the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

I also welcome the additional flexibility that the Act provides
through the reduction in earmarks and added waiver authorities,
including the changes to the annual counternarcotics certification
process and the waiver provision allowing me the flexibility to provide
additional assistance to Azerbaijan. This flexibility will
allow my Administration to meet the diplomatic requirements stemming
from the September 11th attacks, as well as to continue to address the
ever-changing foreign policy challenges we face.

The Act does not interfere with our policies regarding bilateral
international family planning assistance, and ensures that U.S. funds
are not made available to organizations supporting or participating in
the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary
sterilization. The Act provides additional discretion to determine the
appropriate level of funding for the United Nations Population Fund.

Several provisions of the Act purport to direct or burden the
conduct of negotiations by the executive branch with foreign
governments, international organizations, or other entities abroad, or
otherwise interfere with the President's constitutional authority to
conduct the Nation's foreign affairs. These include sections
514, 560, and 581(a), and the appropriations heading related to the
International Development Association, which purport to direct the
Secretary of the Treasury to require the U.S. representatives to take
particular positions for the United States in international
organizations or require the Secretary to accord priority to a
particular objective in negotiations with such an
organization. Another such provision is section 567(b),
which purports to direct the Secretary of State to consult certain
international organizations in determining the state of events
abroad. These provisions shall be construed consistent with
my constitutional authorities to conduct foreign affairs, participate
in international negotiations, and supervise the executive branch.

Section 573 of the Act calls for the Department of State to provide
regular and detailed briefings to congressional committees on any
discussions between the executive branch and a particular government
abroad on any potential purchase of defense articles or defense
services by that government. This provision shall be
construed as advisory only, given the constitutional powers of the
President to supervise the executive branch and to conduct the Nation's
foreign affairs, which includes the authority to determine what
information about international negotiations may, in the public
interest, be made available to the Congress and when such disclosure
should occur. The Secretary of State will, however, as a matter of
comity between the executive and legislative branches, keep the
Congress appropriately informed of the matters addressed by section
573.

Finally, section 577 requires that the President direct executive
agencies possessing information relevant to specified deaths abroad to
declassify and release that information. I will direct the
Attorney General to coordinate the implementation of this section
within the executive branch, so as to produce the requested information
in a manner consistent with my constitutional and statutory
responsibilities to protect various kinds of sensitive information.

Many provisions of the Act make funds available for particular
purposes subject to, in accordance with, or under "the regular
notification procedures of the Committee on
Appropriations." The executive branch shall construe the
reference to the "regular notification procedures" to be a reference to
the procedures in section 515 of the Act.